Ron Bulman Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 Fifty years ago today I and 600 million others watched "One small step for man, ne giant leap for mankind". I was 12 years old, I'd watched the liftoff four days before. I remember skepticism. Dot they really think they could make it all the way to the moon, Land on It (?), and make it safely back to earth? Then incredulousness when it happened. A sense of wonder and optimism. I don't think I knew anything about JFK's May 1961 speech to congress. "I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth". This old guy that worked for us said it was all done in Hollywood and the desert, he didn't believe it. I never knew until today that in 2002 Buzz Aldrin punched a guy in the face for calling him a xxxx for saying he'd walked on the moon. Here's to JFK's vison and challenge. The technology developed has certainly changed the world, in some cases for the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Hancock Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 Agreed Ron - JFK had more vision for the nation (in a good way) than the vast majority of our presidents...IMHO obviously. And Aldrin is an interesting fellow; I have a set of books on the NASA missions autographed by all the early astronauts and was fortunate enough to at least get close enough to Aldrin one time to take a photo with him. We have a very good space museum near me here in Oklahoma - Stafford Air and Space - founded by Stafford. As for me I watched the Apollo landing on a rented TV in an apartment during summer school in 1969....while building a model of the complete space craft - which I still have. A year later I was in basic military training. Here's to the American spirit and to new frontiers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Bulman Posted July 21, 2019 Author Share Posted July 21, 2019 (edited) I read a couple of weeks ago about William Shatner watching it (the landing coverage actually) from a cot in the camper on the back of his pickup on a 9" tv in New Jersey or New York. Star Trek had been cancelled, he was pretty well broke. NASA had him down for a photo op previously. Told him the popularity of the show, and photo op was great for their funding from Congress. The show was renewed. BTW, I had a Enterprise model too. Bit of a delicate thing after glued together on it's mount. Came to pieces in a box during a move. Edited July 21, 2019 by Ron Bulman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Von Pein Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Von Pein Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 (edited) ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Edited July 21, 2019 by David Von Pein Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Adams Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 (edited) In July, 1969 I was was 17 (would be 18, August 03). I was working the summer for a clothing store where I had worked, part time during my junior and senior senior year of High School. The family that owned the clothing store also had a furniture store, where I also occasionally worked as well. On Thursday, the 18th, I borrowed a 13' color television from the manager of the furniture store so that my family could watch the moon landing in color. We had a floor model B&W television. So, I was sitting with my Dad (just as I had during 4 days in November, 1963). Mom was there as well as my two brothers. We watched the landing and man walking on the moon as well as their blast off and docking with the Command Module. On Monday, I went back to work and purchased that 13" television (on payments) for a sum of $849.95. (took me all the way through community college to pay that off...lol) Yesterday I was in my Mom's house showing my wife where we all were in the living room 50 years ago! What wonderful memories!! Edited July 21, 2019 by Terry Adams Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Harper Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 I was just out of High School, heading to college in the Fall. A few of us joined the crowd in Central Park. The word was out to "wear white" and while I might have had a white shirt on, a friend came in a white linen suit with a tie, scarf, shoes and hat, all white.There were 3 large TV screens placed on a triangular base and each of the 3 networks had their own screen. We watched Walter Cronkite. Various booths were selling "moon burgers" and, of course, the atmosphere was festive with little police presence and over 50,000 people. Later that summer, my white suited friend and my older brother attended Woodstock and in the Fall, the big march against the Vietnam War occurred in midtown. "This magic moment" - as the Drifters and Jay and the Americans sang - was certainly in the air that night, though it continued to fade right up to today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Bulman Posted July 21, 2019 Author Share Posted July 21, 2019 At 12 years old something I couldn't understand was how we could watch them walk on he moon live but we couldn't get tv reception at deer camp a hundred miles west of Fort Worth to watch the Saturday afternoon Southwest Conference football game of the week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Mitcham Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 I woke my five year old son and brought him down to watch the t.v. broadcast, so that in the future, he could say he saw it as it happened. At the time I don't think he was too impressed but now he says he was glad I did it, as it was probably the most important point in human history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Bulman Posted July 23, 2019 Author Share Posted July 23, 2019 (edited) I didn't intend it this way but I guess this would naturally take us to Werner Von Braun and the shelling of London Keith Richards remembers the results of. In turn Allen Dulles bringing him to the USA, ignoring President Truman's directive. https://www.dw.com/en/wernher-von-braun-the-rocket-engineer-of-the-powerful/a-49618596 Thus this happened in 69 too. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=gimme+shelter+altamont+video&view=detail&mid=EA836A5C356DB1A9FE17EA836A5C356DB1A9FE17&FORM=VIRE And this. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=gimme+shelter+altamont+video&&view=detail&mid=0EBCD5978AC0EFD942F50EBCD5978AC0EFD942F5&rvsmid=EA836A5C356DB1A9FE17EA836A5C356DB1A9FE17&FORM=VDQVAP Edited July 23, 2019 by Ron Bulman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela Brown Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 Ron Bulman said: I didn't intend it this way but I guess this would naturally take us to Werner Von Braun and the shelling of London Keith Richards remembers the results of. In turn Allen Dulles bringing him to the USA, ignoring President Truman's directive. Wernher von Braun should not have been able to waltz into this country and try to wipe out his Nazi past. On the other hand, he was imprisoned by Hitler for nearly three weeks and could have been executed for being overheard saying at a party that he 'didn't really want to use rockets to kill people -- he just wanted to go to the moon.' I knew a family that came to the US with von Braun. I knew all about "Project Paperclip" firsthand, and I was shocked. My new research will be focusing on this family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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